French Toast

This is another recipe from Snack Girl. I haven't made any breakfast recipes yet, so this one is super simple to start off. Also, I didn't have any frozen berries, so I skipped that step!

French Toast
Source: Snack Girl (LINK)
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Makes: 2 slices
Calories: 125 per slice 
   
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (soy, almond, cows)
dash of spice - cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.
2 slices of 100% Whole Grain bread
1/4 cup frozen berries
low fat cooking spray

Instructions:
1. Beat egg, milk, and spice together. Heat griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat.
2. Add cooking spray and dip bread in egg mixture. Place of griddle and cook for 3 minutes on one side. Flip and cook for one more minute until egg is cooked through.
3. While toast is cooking, thaw berries in microwave (about 30 seconds on high). Cut center of toast with a cookie cutter and pour berries into the hole. Enjoy!

French Toast

Red Beans and Rice

Last December, my friends and I went on a service trip to New Orleans to help rebuild a house destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. The city of New Orleans was packed with as much history as it was with delicious food! During our visit, we tried "Nola" classics like po' boys, jambalaya, Cafe Du Monde beignets, crawfish etouffee, and red beans and rice. I found this recipe in a cookbook my mom got me for Christmas and I knew I had to try it. It definitely brought back some great memories from my Nola trip and makes me want to visit again soon! Geaux Tigers!

Red Beans and Rice
Source: Teens Cook by Megan and Jill Carle (LINK)
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Makes: 6 servings
   
Ingredients:
**Beans**
1 pound dried red kidney beans
1 large onion
2 stalks celery
3 tbs oil
6 (14-oz) cans vegetable broth
2 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
2 tbs Cajun seasoning
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley
**Rice**
1 1/2 cups white rice
3 1/3 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbs butter

Instructions:
1. To prepare beans, soak the beans overnight in water and drain.
2. Peel the onion and chop the celery and onion into 1/2-inch pieces. Place the oil in a stockpot and add the onion and celery. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. 
3. Add the beans and vegetable stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the garlic powder, bay leaf, and Cajun seasoning and simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 3 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley just before serving.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the rice by placing the rice, water, salt, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and fluff the rice with a fork.
5. Place some of the rice on each plate and top with some of the beans.

Red Beans and Rice

Aunt Artie's Baklava

My Aunt Artie gave me a tutorial of how she makes her baklava. This is the recipe she learned from her mom (my Yia-Yia). It might some patience to put the dessert together, but in the words of Aunt Artie, "you can't mess it up!" It is the perfect authentic Greek dessert for entertaining a large crowd since the recipe makes close to 100 baklava.

Aunt Artie's Baklava
Source: My Aunt Artie and Yia-Yia
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Makes: 75-100 baklava
   
Ingredients:
**Syrup**
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
3/4 sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cinnamon sticks
**Baklava**
1 lb phyllo dough - thawed
1 lb unsalted butter - melted
1-1/2 lb to 2 lbs chopped walnuts (not ground too fine)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

** You can also cut down the walnuts and add in about a 1/2 cup of almonds for a more distinct flavor **

Instructions:
1. Mix chopping nuts, cinnamon, and sugar together and set aside.
2. Split the pound of phyllo dough in half. You will use a half of a pound for each for each of the two 13X9 pans. With a pastry brush, line the first pan with butter and then begin layering the phyllo one sheet at a time, buttering each sheet. Fold sides in if necessary. Use a minimum of 7 sheets for the bottom layer.
3. After the 7th sheet of phyllo, spread a quarter of the nut mixture over the phyllo. Layer 4 more sheets of phyllo, buttering between each sheet.
4. Spread a quarter more of the nut mixture over the phyllo dough. Finish the rest of the 1/2 pound of phyllo dough by buttering and layering the sheets. Make sure the top sheet is tear and wrinkle free.

5. Place the first pan in the refrigerator and repeat the previous steps to the second pan.
6. Remove pans from refrigerator and cut in squares or diamonds about half way through. Cloves can be added to hold the pieces together.

7. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for a minimum of 30 minutes. Check to see that it is browning evenly. You can turn pan around to make sure it browns evenly and can be started on the middle to low rack and then moved up one.
8. Boil ingredients for the syrup until sugar is dissolved and set aside to cool COMPLETELY.
9. When baklava comes out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup over it with a ladle. You will probably not use all the syrup. You want the baklava to be moist but not drippy. Let the baklava sit and soak up the syrup before cutting the pieces and placing them into the baking cups. Store the baklava in a cool place sealed tightly.

Aunt Artie's Baklava

TIPS:

To help the pieces stay together:

Secure each piece with a clove as shown in the photo to the left. The cloves not only hold the layers together, but also help add to the flavor. 

For the end pieces:

To avoid wasting some of the pan, you can use the edges that are not complete pieces and use them for baklava sundaes. Scoop vanilla ice cream into a bowl, crush up the extra baklava edges on top, and drizzle with hot fudge.

Taco-Roni

Taco-Roni
Source: Ready Set Eat (LINK)
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Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Makes: 6 servings (1 cup each)

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 oz each) Chef Boyardee Beefaroni Pasta
1 can (14.5 oz) Hunt's Diced Tomatoes, drained
1 can (15 oz) Rosarita Premium Whole Back Beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
1/2 cup broken yellow tortilla chips

Instructions:
1. Place Beefaroni, drained tomatoes, beans, corn and cumin in large saucepan; stir to combine.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and broken chips just before serving.

Taco-Roni

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Because it's June and it should be warmer than 50 degrees.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 1-2 servings
   
Ingredients:
6oz (170g) container of Chobani Low-Fat Strawberry Banana Greek Yogurt
1 ripe banana
1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries
1 tsp honey 

Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients in blender and pulse until smooth.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Wedding Soup

Wedding Soup
Source: my Aunt Lisa
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Prep Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 10 servings
   
Ingredients:
1 large can College Inn Chicken Broth (48 oz)
3 cans Progresso Chickarina Soup (19 oz)
1 package chopped frozen spinach
3-4 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (beat together with eggs)

Instructions:
1. Bring soups to a boil. Add spinach breaking it up with a fork.
2. Beat eggs and cheese together with a fork. Add egg and cheese mixture to boiling soup, stirring with a fork. Simmer for 30 minutes. 

Wedding Soup